


Extraordinary

by FanfictionWarrior



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Claude is a sweetheart, F/M, Fire Emblem: Three Houses Golden Deer Route Spoilers, I instinctively made Byleth female because that's the Byleth I use when I play the game, I make jokes about Sylvain's flirting relentlessly and I'm not sorry, It took me over a month to write chapter 2 because I'm a filthy procrastinator, Light Angst, Mutual Pining, Poisoning, Reader has seriously low self esteem in this, Spoilers for Post-Timeskip | War Phase (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Spoilers for Pre-Timeskip | Academy Phase (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), There's one POV change but I swear it's important, angsty backstory because why not, chapter 2 should be up on this day the 3rd of November but if it's not feel free to smite me, it does leave a plothole but whatever, new tags for chapter 2 start here, no beta we die like Glenn, oh look a happy ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-15
Updated: 2019-11-03
Packaged: 2020-10-19 00:10:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 16,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20647991
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FanfictionWarrior/pseuds/FanfictionWarrior
Summary: You've spent the first couple months at the monastery feeling pretty out of place. The fact you even got into the Officer's Academy still has you reeling, and then there's the part where you're one of two commoners in the Black Eagles. And the other is far more talented than you. You've resigned yourself to not getting anything out of this year of your life, until a certain charming house leader sets his sights on recruiting you into the Golden Deer.





	1. If only you could see yourself as I do

You sat on one of the many stone walls of the academy, a half-eaten apple in one hand. Claude had found you only a few minutes after you’d settled and sat down beside you with a sly grin and a wink. Usual Claude stuff.

He’d always been able to find you, no matter how stealthy you were, or how secluded the area. It was his superpower, and you couldn’t quite decide if you hated it or not. After all, if you wanted to be alone the only place you could do that was your room, but sometimes even that wasn’t safe. Someone would always come knocking, and more often than not, that someone was Claude.

It was almost like he was obsessed with you or something.

"Tell me something, Claude." You said, looking across the grassy area you’d decided to make your hiding place for the day.

It was child’s play for him to find you.

"Something." He leant back as he spoke, and you could see his grin without actually looking at him.

"Be serious!" You sighed.

"I am!" He laughed, nudging you with his shoulder. "You told me to tell you something, so I did."

"I was clearly about to ask a question." You tried not to laugh at his antics, it would only encourage him if you did.

Not to mention how you wouldn’t get anywhere with the conversation.

"You were clearly asking me to tell you something.” He leant forward as he spoke so that he was just in your peripheral vision. “Was that because you like the sound of my voice? Because I'll talk to you as much as you want if that's the case."

You rolled your eyes, a smile budding on your face as you took a bite of the apple in your hand.

“There’s the smile I was fishing for!” His eyes shone as he spoke, and you had to force yourself not to stare.

But _god_ did he have beautiful eyes.

"I'm going to ask my question now." You said finally, turning towards him.

"Avoiding the subject? Alright, but I'll need an answer to my question someday." Another grin flashed your way.

"Why do you want me to join your class so badly?” You asked, tilting your head slightly. “I have no connection whatsoever to the Alliance, and I have no title, no Crest, no special talents… I'm really quite ordinary."

"I dunno. I've just got a good feeling about you, I guess." He shrugged. “And in case you haven’t noticed, like half of my classmates have no crest and no title. Not to mention that I grew up with no Crest and no title, so you’ll fit right in!”

You narrowed your eyes at him, wondering why Claude of all people would give you such an indirect answer. He never did anything without a reason. Of that much, you were sure.

"You _don’t know_?” You took another bite of your apple.

“As for your lack of talent,” He said, sidestepping your question with an easy grin. “_Everybody_ is good at something.”

"Yeah, not me.” You snorted, deciding you’d have to weasel a proper answer out of him later. “I can barely pick up an axe, let alone swing it; horses hate me; the last time I picked up a lance I nearly poked poor Dimitri's eye out and I'm pretty sure that my last sword practice ended with me passed out on the floor."

"Well, the Pegasi love you, that's a bonus." Claude suggested.

"Seteth took me out for a flying lesson the other day, it's where we discovered I'm afraid of heights." You replied, looking down at the ground again.

"Ah."

"The only thing I'm even mildly good at is magic, but you don't need me for that, Lysithea is easily worth ten of me in that regard." You ran your free hand through your hair as you spoke, and your eyes stayed glued to the ground as you willed the rising tears to go away.

You just hoped that he hadn’t noticed the waver in your voice.

"If Lysithea is worth ten of you, and I still recruit you, that makes eleven. And I’d much rather have eleven of you than ten.” Claude’s response made you crack a smile, maybe he knew more about you than you thought.

“Are you sure you could handle eleven of me, Claude?” You asked, daring to look up at him and pretend that you hadn’t just been about to cry.  
“I handle one of you just fine.” He winked at you, his usual impish grin not wavering.

“Yeah, but that’s still ten more of me than there are right now.” You nudged his shoulder with your own, taking another bite from your apple.

It was almost funny to imagine Claude trying to deal with eleven of you all in the one room. You forced back a laugh out of fear that you’d choke on the food in your mouth.

“And I’d still love each one just as much as the original,” He said, playfully tapping your nose.

"You don't have to try to make me feel better, Claude." You swatted his hand away with a roll of your eyes.

“And you don’t have to be so negative about yourself all the time,” He retorted, shrugging a moment later. “but you seem to like doing it and I like to see you smile.”

“Sylvain told me the same thing just the other day.” You mused, finishing off your apple.

“Why were you talking to Sylvain?” The face Claude made was worth the effort it took to get Sylvain to leave you alone earlier that day.

You couldn’t help but wonder how one even made such a face.

“Jealous, Claude?” You cooed, setting the apple core aside.

“Nah, you’re too smart to fall for a couple compliments and a dazzling smile.”

“I don’t know Claude, his smile is dazzling.” You said, sighing dramatically. “I might just fall for it one day, though I doubt he’d fall for me.”

"You know, I’m getting really tired of hearing you say that you’re too ordinary for this place.” The smile melted from Claude’s face, and his eyes shone with genuine concern. “I think… No, I _know_ that you're special."

"Special?” You echoed, tilting your head with a puzzled frown. “Lucky is the word I’d use.”

"Listen, I know a thing or two about not fitting in, and you don’t fit in with the Black Eagles. You never have.” He jumped off the wall as he spoke, holding a hand out for you with a serious expression. “So join the Golden Deer and I'll show you just how extraordinary you really are."

You hesitated, staring at his outstretched hand for a while before coming to a decision. You placed your hand in his.

"...Alright. It looks like you have a deal, Claude."

\--  
"Well, this is unexpected. You want to join my class?" Byleth looked at you with an assessing gaze.

"Yes, Professor." You nodded, suddenly feeling incredibly self-conscious.

You resisted the urge to fidget as your (hopefully) future professor stared at you. You’d heard what the mercenaries used to call her: The Ashen Demon.

And now you could almost understand why.

What felt like hours was actually only a few seconds, and your shoulders slumped with relief as Byleth put her quill back into its ink pot.

"Claude, would you mind finding Professor Hanneman and telling him I want to speak with him?" She said, pushing whatever she had been working on aside and grabbing a fresh piece of parchment.

"Sure thing, Teach." Claude patted your shoulder reassuringly, then departed the classroom as quickly as he’d dragged you into it.

"Claude's been complaining for the past two months that he couldn't convince you to join my class… what changed your mind?" The professor looked up at you as she spoke, fingers interlaced on her desk.

"He did.” You said, reaching for an explanation. “I asked him why he wanted me to switch so badly and it got me thinking…"

You trailed off.

She nodded at you to continue.

"Everyone in the Black Eagles house is either noble, brilliant, or both. I’m none of those things,” You admitted, bringing one hand behind your neck uncomfortably as you spoke. “And while the Golden Deer are… an odd bunch, I feel that they will suit me better in the long run. Not to mention how everyone says that you’re brilliant at bringing out anyone's hidden talents."

"I'm glad you told me this, (y/n)... And I would be happy to include you in my class.” She gave you one of her rare smiles as she spoke. "I’ll make the necessary arrangements and speak to you at dinner."

At dinner that night, your stomach churned with nerves. You glanced around, expecting Hubert to put a knife in your back at any moment for even asking to join another house. Sure, you didn’t really know anything about Edelgard, but if he saw you as a threat… You had no doubt that he would rather end your life than let you possibly spill secrets you didn’t know to another house leader.

Edelgard spotted you from her usual place, and calmly stood. She began walking towards you with a purposeful stride and a slight frown on her face. You turned away, frantically grabbing a plate and piling food onto it without really concentrating on whether you even liked what you put onto your plate. You could feel her gaze bore into you, and when you finally turned around to face the music, you felt a shiver go down your spine.

Moments before she could reach your side, however; Claude materialised next to you. His arm went around your shoulder, and one hand squeezed your arm reassuringly. He began leading you towards a group of people you were only really acquainted with.

"(Y/n)! Glad you could make it, come on and sit with us.” He said cheerfully, cutting off any chance of your former house leader talking to you. “Tonight, you get to celebrate with your new classmates. Welcome to the Golden Deer."

\--  
You sighed with frustration as the arrow flew past the target again.

Sure, you’d been at it for a few hours now, and maybe you were getting a bit tired, but still. You hadn’t hit the target even once. Claude always made it look so easy, how had you thought that you could do it too?

“”I think you missed the target, princess.” You jumped as the man himself walked out from the shadows of the targets, holding onto an arrow.

“Princess?” You frowned, placing a hand on your hip as you looked at him.

“It’s a fitting nickname for someone as pretty as you.” He winked as he spoke, making your heartrate spike.

Since when could something as small as a wink do this to you? You decided to brush it off as nerves.

“You sound like you’ve been talking to Sylvain.” You sighed, rolling your eyes.

“I don’t need to talk to Sylvain to compliment someone, princess.” He twirled the arrow in his hand, unknowingly crushing your spirits. “Now, what exactly did I do to deserve an arrow flying at my face?”

“I’m sorry…” You said, shoulders slumping in defeat. “I’ve got a test tomorrow and I can’t even hit the target.”

“All you had to do was ask. I don’t understand why you have so much trouble doing that.” He flipped the arrow one last time before focusing his gaze on you, his eyes glinting with amusement.

“When I was in the Black Eagles… It sorta felt like if I asked for help I was admitting my weakness. Like-” You cut yourself off, gathering your thoughts. “It’s like I was proving to the nobles that they’re right to look down on me. I guess I’m still not used to being in a class where nobody cares about all that stuff.”

“Well, I’m here now so you’ve got nothing to worry about.” He gave you a confident grin as he held the arrow out to you. “Nock an arrow for me.”

“OK…” You carefully took the arrow from him, then got into the stance Shamir had shown you weeks ago and nocked the arrow.

“Your stance is good, so it looks like it’s how you’re holding the bow that’s wrong.” He mused, circling you. “Here, you’ve gotta do it like this.”

Suddenly he was behind you, his arms reaching around you as he used his hands to guide yours.

“What- what are you doing?” Your cheeks flushed, and you hoped that he couldn’t hear your heart hammering in your chest.

Why did this close proximity make you like this? As long as you didn’t start trembling you would be fine… Right? There was no way he could know… Right?

“I don’t think just explaining it or showing you is going to do any good right now, just let me run you through it, OK?” His breath tickled your ear as he spoke, and you had to force yourself to concentrate on something other than him.

He was warm.

“OK…” You breathed, not trusting yourself to say anything else.

“You pull this arm back like this, aim your other one a little above where you want the arrow to go and…” He gently guided your arms, his body pressing close to yours as he helped you.

He had to know. He _had to_. He never missed a beat.

Regardless, you let him help you, and when he said the word, you let go.

The arrow flew from your bow.

And it hit the target.

Albeit, it didn’t hit the centre, but it got close enough that you would pass your test tomorrow.

“Whoa. I did it.” You murmured, your arms slowly lowering as you looked at your work.

“You sure did. Think you can do that without my help, princess?” Claude held out another arrow for you, a grin plastered across his face.

But the grin didn’t reach his eyes. They shone with an emotion you couldn’t quite identify. 

“Stop calling me that.” You snatched the arrow from him, trying to pretend nothing was wrong.

“Get a bullseye and maybe I will.” He crossed his arms, leaning against a pillar.

“Maybe?” You snorted, nocking the arrow and running yourself through what he’d told you.

“You heard me.”

“You’re really mean sometimes, you know?” You said, aiming at the target, your face settling into a determined frown.

“I prefer the word ‘charming’.” His words made you snort with amusement. “Now put what you’ve learnt to good use already, if you’re gonna show up those snobby nobles you’ve gotta pass that test tomorrow.”

“Alright. Let’s do this.” You let the arrow fly, enjoying the satisfying thunk as it hit its target.

Or rather, what you thought was its target.

“Well… You hit a target.” Claude said, a quiet laugh not far behind.

“Are you laughing at me?” You dropped your arms, turning on one heel to look at him.

“I mean, you’ve gotta admit that it’s a little funny.” He cracked a smile.

This time it reached his eyes.

“Is not.” You replied, pouting at him as you put your free hand onto your hip.

“Trust me princess, it’s kinda funny.” He jerked his head in the direction of your arrow.

Which had hit the target next to the one you were aiming at.

“I got a bullseye, Claude. You said you’d stop calling me that if I got one.” You couldn’t stop the smile from spreading to your face.

Sure, you’d gotten a bullseye. But it had been on the wrong target.

You suppressed a giggle, after all, you were trying to be mad at him. _He was laughing at you for crying out loud._

“I said I _might_ stop calling you that. I think it suits you.”

“I’m about as suited to the word ‘princess’ as Hubert is to ‘pleasant’.” You grumbled, your free hand brushing stray strands of hair from your face.

Claude shook his head, clearly attempting not to laugh again. 

Then he pushed himself off of the pillar, making his way toward you with a resigned sigh.

“I always knew you had a sense of humour in there somewhere.” He stopped next to you, hands landing on your shoulders so he could turn you back to the targets. “Here, I’ll show you what to do one more time.”

\--  
“Hiding away on your birthday?”

You jumped, whipping around to find Claude leaning in the doorway of the greenhouse.

So much for a quiet afternoon.

“How did you…” You asked breathlessly, trying to think of what day it was.

Ah, right. It really was your birthday, wasn’t it?

“You really thought you could hide something as important as your birthday from me?” He asked, his face filled with mock misery. “Princess, you wound me.”

“Birthdays aren’t really _that_ important,” You said, putting down the watering can you had somehow managed to not spill despite receiving the fright of your life just a few minutes before. “I forgot about it to be honest.”

“I guess you never really had the time or money to celebrate something like that, huh?” Claude tilted his head, his grin melting away as he examined you.

“I was hoping to let it slip by unnoticed but I suppose you really do know everything about everyone.” You replied, fidgeting under the intensity of his stare.

“Not everything, princess.” Another grin from your house leader.

Sometimes you wondered if he ever got tired of grinning. He seemed to be able to find a grin for every situation, and you almost wanted to ask if his face ever got tired. You also wanted to ask how he could smile, but somehow never look all that happy.

“If you want to do something nice for my birthday, you could stop calling me that.” You said, placing your hands on your hips.

“I would but… Well, I already did something nice for your birthday.” Claude pushed himself off the doorway, moving towards you with his usual confident stride. “Several things, in fact.”

“I… Wish you hadn’t.” You turned your head, looking away from him with a concerned frown.

“It’s nothing big, I promise.” He said, leaning to the side so he could look at you as he spoke. “Only myself and Teach know, whether everyone else finds out… That’s up to you.”

“What, exactly, did you do?” You sighed, looking up at the roof for a moment before turning your gaze back to the ever-smiling annoyance you called Claude.

“I convinced Lysithea to make up a cake for the class to share, told her it was to boost morale and to celebrate the success of our last mission.” He said, running a hand through his hair. “I swear that girl can pull cake out from anywhere because the next thing I knew she’d already set it up and was running to find everyone. The only person left to join us is you.”

“This sounds more and more like just another of your schemes, Claude.” You huffed, crossing your arms so that he wouldn’t be able to drag you anywhere, as he was wont to do. “Let me guess, everyone already knows and I’m stepping into a surprise party?”

“No schemes here, princess. Have I ever lied to you?”  
“You have. Several times in fact.” You said flatly. “Lysithea’s keeping a book of all the lies you tell us, and it’s quite detailed.”

“OK, now you’re lying to me. If Lysithea really was keeping a book like that, I’d know.” Claude smirked, moving to stand beside you instead of in front of you.

“And yet you claimed that you don’t know everything.” You replied, playfully tapping his nose.

“Are you coming to the party or not?” He grumbled, swatting your hand away from his face.

“Oh, so it is a party now?” You asked, gesturing for him to lead the way.

“Please stop trying to uncover a scheme that doesn’t exist.” Claude sighed, taking your free hand and tugging you toward the door to the greenhouse.

“Alright.” You relented, rolling your eyes as you let him pull you along. “I trust you.”

The two of you had been walking for a while when you noticed Claude fiddling with something. He was moving a small blue package around in his hands, as if he were actually nervous. You looked away from it, pretending not to notice.

“Hey, (y/n)?” He asked a few moments later.

“Mmm?” You hummed, looking up at him with a soft smile.

“There’s one more thing before we go in there.” He stopped as he spoke, making you stop as well.

“Only one more?” You said, eyebrow raised as you turned to properly face him.

“OK, there’s two. I know you don’t really celebrate your birthday but…” He trailed off, handing you the package he’d been fiddling with. “I got you something for the occasion.”

You hesitantly took it from him. It was definitely something small, and he’d wrapped it in a fine blue paper that must have been difficult to find. You almost felt bad about opening it, until you noticed that it hadn’t really been stuck together with anything, just cleverly folded so that it stayed together.

You glanced up at him before you delicately tugged on one of the folds. Claude had seemed so nervous and fidgety over this, and you’d never seen him like that. It was a quality the two of you didn’t really share. While he was confident and easy-going, you were easily flustered and almost constantly fidgeting.

“Claude, you really didn’t have to-” You cut yourself off as you beheld the item inside the paper. “It’s beautiful.”

It was a small golden pin, shaped like a deer. It was probably the most beautiful thing you owned now, and you wondered just how much effort Claude had gone to get it for you. Which led you to wonder why he’d gone to so much effort for you.

“I’m glad you like it, princess.” He said, relief spreading across his features.

“You mean you didn’t predict that I’d like it?” You teased, folding the pin back into the paper and sliding it into an inside pocket of your coat. “Claude, you seem to be losing your edge.”

“Even _I_ can’t predict everything, you know.” He replied, smiling with amusement. “Now, I’m gonna need you to turn around for the second thing.”

“Why do I have a bad feeling about this?” You muttered, slowly turning around.

“No tricks on your birthday, I promise.”

You heard the clink of a chain, then Claude lowered something over your head to rest around your neck. He gently moved some of your hair out of the way with one hand, while the other expertly clipped the two ends of the necklace together. As soon as he was done, you turned back to him, one hand lifting the necklace so you could see.

It was a small spherical stone, encased in a silver ring that linked it to the small chain around your neck. The stone had a strange symbol carved into it, and you frowned as you decided that it looked vaguely like a Crest.

“Claude, two birthday presents is really unnecessary, you don’t have to make up for presents I never got.” You said, looking up at him. “And you definitely didn’t have to get me things as nice as this.”

“Yeah, I know you wouldn’t want me to do that.” He replied, a hand resting on the back of his neck as he glanced away from you for a moment. “The necklace is actually from my grandfather, I told him about you and he sent this for me to give you. Apparently it can make even the most ordinary person just as special as someone with a Crest.”

You couldn’t help but smile as his words sunk in. 

And before you knew it, you’d thrown your arms around his shoulders for a hug.

“Thank you.” You murmured.

“No need to thank me, princess.” He said, holding you for a moment longer before pulling away. “Just make sure you enjoy yourself today, ok?”

You nodded, letting him lead the way for you to go inside the classroom.

And when you decided to tell everyone what day it was, they were all genuinely surprised.

There really had been no schemes on your birthday.  
\--

You kept your eyes shut, hoping that if you waited long enough you’d be able to open them and find that this was all just a bad dream.

“Come on, open your eyes.”

“I am _not_ opening my eyes, Claude.” You snapped, clutching onto him for dear life.

“Why not? The view’s incredible up here.” His calm voice made you grit your teeth.

_Of course_ he had forgotten. You began reevaluating all your life choices, including the one where you decided you could trust this smooth-talking schemer.

“I told you I’m afraid of heights, and flying on a wyvern is the very definition of something I don’t want to do!” You retorted, trying to remember how to breathe.

“You’re not going to fall off, now come on, open your eyes before it gets too dark and I have to bring us back down.” 

As if to illustrate the point, Claude got the wyvern to fly downwards, and you let yourself scream as your stomach seemed to stay in the space above you despite your body going down.

“Why did I agree to this again?” You asked.

“Because I asked very nicely?” You could almost see the cheeky grin on his face.

“It was a trick question, Claude! I didn’t agree to this! You kidnapped me and brought me up here!” You snapped, trying to figure out what he could have bribed Raphael with to make him help get you on the wyvern.

“This view is too good for you to not see it, princess!”

“OK you know what?” You shouted, seeing an opportunity. “I will open my eyes if you stop calling me that.” 

“You’ve got yourself a deal.”

You sucked in a deep breath, slowly forcing your eyes open. You blinked a couple of times to adjust your eyes to the light, then looked around. You were flying among the clouds, and if you looked to your right a bit, you could see the sun dipping below the horizon.

“Wow…” You breathed, looking around more enthusiastically.

“It’s pretty, isn’t it?” Claude asked, turning his head to look at you for a moment.

“I didn’t realise the sunset could get any more beautiful…” You said, looking at the sunset again.

“Being up here isn’t so bad now, is it?” He relaxed his grip on the wyvern, letting it glide freely across the sky.

“I wouldn’t say that, I’m still terrified.” You admitted, resisting the urge to look down.

“I can tell. You’re making it kinda hard to breathe, you know?”

“Sorry.” You said, relaxing your grip around Claude’s waist.

“Don’t be. You’re scared, I get it.” He replied, turning his head to look at you again. “And I’m sorry for kidnapping you, it was the only way I could get you up here.”

“Apology accepted.” You murmured, giving him a small smile. “But if you ever do something like this again, I’ll shove you off the wyvern.”

“Alright.” He laughed. “No more surprise wyvern rides.”

The two of you flew in silence for a while, Claude letting the wyvern fly in large, slow circles. It got darker by the minute, and you began to wonder when he was going to take you back to the ground.

You could almost have forgotten that you were mad at him for forcing you to go up there. In fact, maybe you weren’t so mad at him after all.

“Hey, (y/n)?” Claude asked, breaking the comfortable silence. “What are you planning on doing after we graduate?”

“I haven’t given it much thought…” You replied, shrugging despite the fact that he couldn’t exactly see you. “I guess I’ll go back home. Get back to my life in the village.”

“What, settling down with a farmer boy who doesn’t appreciate you and living a boring life in a cottage somewhere?” Claude sighed, a twinge of jealousy in his voice.

“Jealous of my farmer boy, Claude?” You teased, trying not to overthink his tone of voice.

“No!” He replied, a little too quickly for your liking. “I just think it’s a waste for you to have come all this way to learn only to go back home and forget it all happened.”

“I could never forget this happened, you know.” You said gently, making him turn back to look at you. “But I don’t know what else to do, I’m not exactly knight material.”

He frowned thoughtfully, staring at you for a while. A smile spread across his face, and you noticed that it was a genuine one for once. 

“You could come back to the Alliance with me.” He suggested.

“Yeah, right.” You snorted, rolling your eyes as you looked away from him.

“I’m serious, you could come with me, hone your skills…” He trailed off, and you looked at him again with a frown. “Meet my grandfather.”

“Most guys would have invited me to dinner first.” You said, a grin spreading across your face.

“I took you up on my wyvern to see a beautiful sunset, that isn’t romantic enough for you?” He retorted, his eyes shining with amusement.

“I’m just teasing, Claude.” You murmured, trying to mask your sudden embarrassment.

“I’m not.” He said, his face turning red as soon as he realised what he was implying. “Ah, about coming with me to the Alliance.”

You regarded his face for a moment before you laughed, tipping your head back as you did so. When you looked back, Claude had a grumpy frown on his face.

"Are you _laughing at me_?" He asked, pouting a little.

"I'm sorry it's just- it's just I don't think I've ever seen you flustered like that before." You said, still giggling as you struggled to contain your laughter. "You're normally so calm and collected, with every move planned out ahead of you. It was kind of nice to know that you can get like that too."

"Yeah well, sometimes things just don't go to plan." He smiled, then turned away from you so he could begin the wyvern's descent. "Like, how you still haven't told me if you're coming back to the Alliance with me."

“OK, I’ll bite." You said, taking one last look at the nearby clouds. "What would I do if I went back with you? Settle down with a _different_ farmer boy?”

“You could become one of my knights.” Claude suggested, guiding the wyvern back to the monastery.

“Don’t say things you don’t mean, Claude.” You muttered, looking down at the pin he had given you for your birthday, which now rested on one of your lapels.

“I mean it, (y/n)! Just… Say you’ll think about it?”

His words hit you like a ton of bricks. He really did want you to go with him? And be one of his knights?

Perhaps it couldn't hurt to go with him… it sure beat staying in that quiet little village for the rest of your life.

“OK." You whispered. "I’ll think about it.”

\--

The two of you stood in a clearing in a forest you barely recognised, the sun slowly dipping below the horizon.

He, with a home, a grandfather and a good many duties to return to…

And you, with a new sword, a new future and new responsibilities to bind you.

“I guess you’re not coming back to the Alliance with me, huh?” Claude asked, looking down at the ground as he absently kicked the dirt with one foot.

“Until Catherine’s back on her feet, I can’t really go anywhere.” You agreed, shifting uncomfortably under the weight of the Hero’s Relic strapped across your back. “I’m the only other person who can wield Thunderbrand after all.”

“I told you that you were extraordinary.” He said, looking up at you with a forced smile. “No Crest, yet you can use a Hero’s Relic without becoming a monster, not everyone can do that.”

“I suppose not.” You replied, instinctively moving a hand to fiddle with the necklace he’d given you.

Claude’s eyes rested on the necklace for a moment, his smile wavering. 

You hesitated, wondering what would happen if you threw all your responsibilities into the wind and went with him anyway. Your eyes locked, and the two of you stared at each other for a while, neither of you making a move toward the other.

You were the first to break eye contact, your gaze dropping to the floor as you remembered Seteth’s plea that you stay and help search for Rhea. It was a huge undertaking, one that would likely get you killed…

But it wasn’t like you had much else to do. You couldn’t go home anymore, not after you’d raised Thunderbrand at Edelgard to defend the monastery. And Claude… He had far more important things to worry about than you right now.

“Well, my wyvern awaits.” Claude finally said, drawing your attention back to him. “Until next time, (y/n).”

You nodded mutely, watching him give you a mock bow before he turned and made his way back to the wyvern he’d become terribly attached to before Edelgard showed her true intentions. The gravity of the situation hit you full force as you realised that he’d used your name, not that stupid nickname he’d insisted on giving you way back when.

You swallowed, your eyes fixed on his retreating back as you realised that _you may never see him again._

And, as you watched him fly off on his wyvern, you wanted nothing more than to go running after him.


	2. If only I could tell you how I truly feel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Five years have passed since Garreg Mach fell, and a certain Alliance Leader returns to find an old friend that he'd missed dearly. But five years have changed them both and it will take time before they can admit their feelings for each other.
> 
> If they make it through the war, that is.

“I’m afraid a few of the knights are still in the process of returning to the monastery from their search for Lady Rhea, including our best one.” Seteth sighed, as if wondering how many knights would not be returning. “I must be going now to oversee the continued restoration of the monastery, but once she returns, I’ll send her your way.”

The somber man nodded respectfully at Claude, turning and leaving the room just as Byleth entered it.

“Uh, Teach, why do you think he’s sending a knight of Seiros _my_ way?” Claude asked, frowning as he stared at the door Seteth had just exited from.

A few hours later, you returned to the monastery exhausted and desperately hoping for a chance to collapse on the nearest bed for some rest. But alas, Seteth had asked you to speak with the new leader of the Alliance, who had apparently taken up residence in the monastery since you’d left for your last mission.

All exhaustion was forgotten, however; when you spotted a familiar figure standing on a balcony overlooking the sunset. You paused in the doorway, wondering why it was always a sunset when it came to the two of you.

“Duke Riegan!” You called, stepping into the light.

“Please, call me-” Claude turned, cutting himself off as he saw you. A grin broke out across his face as he looked you up and down. “Well, well, well, five years have made you quite the looker, princess.”

“You’re not so bad yourself.” You replied, crossing your arms. “But if you call me princess again I’ll show you what else five years has done to me.”

“Yeah, looks like you’ve still got Thunderbrand.” His gaze rested on the sword strapped to your back, and you felt like you’d been transported right back to that forest five years before.

Had it really been five years since you last saw him?

“And it looks like you’ve still got two working eyes.” You retorted, vaguely remembering a fallen prince, lost to the voices of the dead.

“OK, obvious observations aside, it is good to see you, princess.” Claude stepped toward you, his ever-present grin appearing on his face.

“I’m never going to get you to stop calling me that, am I?” You sighed, resisting the urge to roll your eyes at his flippant disregard of your earlier threat.

“Not unless you follow through on one of your many threats. Now, come here.” He opened his arms for a hug as he spoke, the look on his face settling between joy and that strange emotion you’d never been able to name.

You relented, embracing him. He pulled you close, holding onto you for a few seconds as if he thought you might disappear on him again. As you buried your head in his chest you wondered if he had been worrying about you all this time, unable to find out if you were dead or alive.

It was almost strange to be hugging him like this, especially after some of the close calls you’d had. For once, he wasn’t a figment of your imagination, called up in the delirium caused by blood loss.

No. He was very much real.

“You’re pretty late for our reunion,” Claude finally said, reluctantly pulling away but keeping his hands on your shoulders. “Don’t you know it’s rude to keep a gentleman waiting?”

“But it was worth it, wasn’t it?” You replied, stepping just out of his reach with a mischievous grin.

“Definitely.” He nodded, a smile plastered to his face. “In fact, I’m glad we got to meet up like this first.”

“Oh?” You arched an eyebrow. “And why’s that?”

“Because I get to tell you how beautiful you look without Sylvain beating me to the punch.” He took your hand, raising it to place a soft kiss on your fingers as he did so.

You snorted, remembering how Sylvain had done the very same thing to you on several occasions. All of them in Claude’s presence. It was almost as if he knew Claude would be watching, and wanted to annoy the future leader of the Alliance as much as possible.

“Worried he’s going to steal me away?” You asked, tugging your hand away.

“I feel like we’ve had this conversation before,” Claude said, his smile quickly turning smug. “And we definitely agreed that you were too smart for him and his silver tongue.”

“Ah, but that was back at the academy.” You leaned forward, tapping Claude’s nose playfully as you spoke. “This war has been long and Sylvain has only gotten more handsome. You’ve got… Pompoms.”

“Are you saying you don’t like my pompoms?” He asked, frowning as he pretended to take offense at your comment.

“Will anything change if I say yes?” You asked, tilting your head slightly.

“Nope.” You rolled your eyes at his response, wondering why the goddess had forced you to deal with such a dork.

You shook your head, unable to stop yourself from smiling broadly at him.

Whatever you felt about his new fashion choices, Claude was still alive. And so were you. And soon, you would be helping him end this war once and for all. 

Maybe the goddess really was watching after all.

“What?” Claude asked, frowning as he looked himself over. “Is there something on my face?”

“No, it’s just-” You paused, taking a moment to really take in the fact that he was standing in front of you. “It’s good to see you again, Claude.”

**

You stopped the swing of your sword just in time to avoid beheading Claude. He raised his hands in surrender, a somewhat nervous grin on his face.

“Why am I getting the strangest sense of deja vu?” He asked, an amused glint in his eyes as his gaze travelled up the sword until it finally rested on you.

“If you don’t want to have a sword in your face,” You lowered the sword, shooting him a teasing grin. “Maybe you should stop sneaking up on me when I’m holding one.”

“Am I allowed to sneak up on you when you’re holding anything?” He lowered his hands, all nerves disappearing as soon as he saw you relax. “Because last time I’m pretty sure it was an arrow that you almost hit me with.”

“That was an accident.” You sighed, rolling your eyes. “And I’d rather you didn’t sneak up on me at all.”

“Worried you’ll actually stab me?” Claude asked, taking a step closer now that the sword had been taken out of the equation.

“Yes.”

The silence that followed was almost deafening. He blinked, apparently taken off-guard by your immediate response to his question. You stared back at him, unflinching even as his gaze travelled to the sword you held loosely in your hand, then all the way into the corner where you’d left Thunderbrand.

You got the impression that your Heroes Relic made him uneasy; but you couldn’t think of a single reason why. He was still Claude, and he still had the annoying habit of always being able to find you but… Somehow it felt like the distance between you had grown, and was continuing to grow, simply because of Thunderbrand’s presence.

“Can I ask you something?”

Claude jumped, his distant gaze going back into focus as he turned his head to look at you. To his credit he recovered quickly, fixing you with a raised eyebrow and yet another grin.

“You just did.” He teased, smiling right up until you lifted your sword in his direction again. “But I will ignore that fact because you’re holding a very sharp sword very close to my face.”

He nodded for you to continue.

“Why have you been spending so much time with me lately?” You finally asked, turning away from him so you could put the sword back onto the hooks it had been hanging from.

“Well, I’ve got five years of missed time to catch up on, might as well start sooner rather than later, don’t you think?” Claude appeared beside you, placing himself between you and Thunderbrand.

You crossed your arms. “People are starting to talk.”

“You never used to care about what people said about us.” He took a small step forward, another grin on his face as he close the gap between the two of you.

As your cheeks began to warm up, you sincerely hoped that nobody was about to walk into this room and see the two of you standing so close together. That was definitely a lecture from Seteth that you didn’t want to listen to.

“Back then it was just harmless teenager gossip.” You scoffed, forcing yourself to meet his gaze so that he knew you were trying to be serious. “Now we’re all adults and they’re throwing around words like ‘marriage’ and ‘producing heirs’.”

“Well, if it’ll make you feel better I can find a ring for you to wear.” Claude took your hand, winking as he pressed a kiss to your fingers. “That oughta shut them up for a while, don’t you think?”

You froze, almost panicking at what he was suggesting. Until you saw that familiar look in his eyes, and the slight movement of the corners of his mouth as if he was trying not to laugh.

“I sincerely hope you’re joking.” You pulled your hand away, taking a step back in an effort to get some breathing room.

“Why?” He tilted his head slightly, his mouth still trying not to give away the joke even as his eyes took on a more serious look. “Are you telling me that if I got out a ring right now, and asked you to marry me, you’d say no?”

“I am.”

“Ouch.” He dramatically put a hand to his chest, a wounded frown making its way to his face. “Way to crush a man’s dreams, princess.”

“We’re in the middle of a war, Claude.” You chided, crossing your arms again as you ignored the fluttering in your chest as you processed the weight of his questions. “Now is hardly the time to be throwing around marriage proposals when either one of us could die tomorrow.”

“Sounds to me like the perfect time.”

You froze again, desperately searching his face for any sign of a joke. What was he playing at, anyway? Throwing around stuff like that at a time like this…

It was insane.

A flicker of emotion in his eyes gave him away. He was trying to make you flustered, to break down the walls you’d put up over the last five years.

Two could play at that game.

“So do it.” You replied, shrugging with one shoulder.

“Uh… What?” A rare look of confusion passed over his face.

“You heard me.” You stepped forward, placing your face only a few centimetres away from his own. “If it’s the perfect time for a proposal, go ahead and do it.”

“Why would I do that?” He was trying to hide it, but you could see the light tinge of red creeping up his face. “You _just_ told me you’d say no.”

You waited a moment.

Two.

Then smiled, moving out of his personal space as you prepared to deliver the final blow.

“Well, I might have said yes.” You shrugged, turning your back to him. “But the opportunity has passed and now you’ll never get to find out.”

Claude groaned once he figured out what you’d just done. “That’s not fair, princess.”

You turned around, frowning at the stricken expression on his face. “Come on Claude, I was just-”

“Teasing. I know.” He sighed, holding up a hand as what you assumed was exhaustion flashed across his face before his expression turned inquisitive. “But out of curiosity, would you have-”

“No.”

“So there wasn’t even a little chance that-”

“Ask me again after we win this war,” You replied, stepping past him and picking up Thunderbrand so you could buckled it back into place. “And maybe I’ll have a different answer for you.”

**  
You learnt two things upon arriving in Derdriu. The first was that Claude may not be exactly who he claimed to be, and the second was that his retainer Nardel was quite the character.

“Is that you, kiddo?” Nardel asked, eyes alight with amazement.

‘Kiddo?’ You mouthed to Byleth, curiosity stirring as you looked between a man who definitely didn’t look like a retainer and Claude, who looked like he was scrambling to get the situation under control.

“Ahem, Nardel.” Claude coughed, shooting him a quick glare. “How are you doing with your new position as my _retainer_?”

“Ah, I’m sorry Master Claude!” Nardel straightened, looking very much like someone who forgot where he was and who he was speaking to. “I must have ah… Mistaken you for one of the village children… Ah! Who is this lovely lady with you?”

You smirked, admiring Nardel’s expert but not very well hidden way of changing the subject. He was definitely not retainer material, so who was he?

“This is my former professor, Byleth.” Claude grinned, pulling Byleth forward as he introduced her. “I’m hoping that as Rhea’s representative, she’ll be able to help us convince the other nobles to assist us with the war.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Byleth nodded, glancing back at you with slight amusement.

“This one’s quite polite! It’s a pleasure to meet you too, Byleth.” Nardel bowed, a pleasant smile spreading across his scarred face. “I am Nardel, Master Claude’s- Ah, it seems I missed one of your companions. And you are?”

You crossed your arms before replying, a teasing grin making its way onto your face as you shot a glance at Claude. “Wondering why Claude thought my presence here was necessary.”

“You must be princess (y/n)!” Nardel’s booming laughter filled the room, and Claude visibly winced at his words. “Master Claude’s told me all about you.”

“Princess?” You looked at Claude, who had pinched the bridge of his nose with a resigned sigh. “Nardel, I’m afraid you’re mistaken. I’m not a princess, in fact I’m not even a noble.”

“Hm.” The retainer narrowed his eyes, his assessing gaze taking you in as he considered the situation. “That’s always how Master Claude refers to you. Princess this, princess that-”

“Nardel!” Claude finally interrupted, earning the attention of everyone in the room. “Aha… Let’s not bore (y/n) with the details…”

He shot you a pleading look, and you returned a feline smile. Now this was _quite_ the predicament he’d ended up in, and he was looking to you for help. Apparently he’d forgotten all about the time you’d given him a similar look, and all the teasing he’d done afterwards. Ah, revenge was sweet.

“No, I’m quite interested. I thought you only called me Princess to infuriate me.” You turned back to Nardel, tilting your head slightly. “Please, Nardel, continue.”

Nardel looked between you and Claude, hesitant to side with either of you. On one hand, he needed to listen to his lord. But on the other… Well, you _had_ told him to continue, and Claude hadn’t exactly ordered him to stop talking. It had definitely been more of a suggestion.

“Er… You know what, (y/n)?” Claude appeared at your side, pushing you towards the door as he rambled. “Why don’t you go explore Derdriu? I’ve got a whole lot of _boring_ politics to discuss with Teach and Nardel, and you look bored already!”

Odd. You’d never seen him quite this distressed before. Claude didn’t ramble. It just wasn’t in his nature. Yet here he was, making up stuff that clearly wasn’t true just so that Nardel wouldn’t keep speaking to you. What, exactly, was he hiding? And how had he suddenly become such a mess?

“And here I thought you were good at lying, Claude.” You said as you found yourself on the other side of the door.

“I’ll come find you when we’re done, see you later, bye.” He spoke really quickly, and the door was shut in your face as soon as he’d finished.

You rolled your eyes, looking up at the sky for a moment before you turned your gaze back to the sprawling coastal city below you. 

You straightened, pushing your shoulders back and stepping into the streets. It was about time you explored the place Claude called home.

A few hours later you were standing on a bridge, staring out at the ocean. You’d never had any real desire to see it in person, but now that you were here… Well, the gentle lapping of water below you and the reflection of the sun on the water had entranced you.

“Oh, (y/n), there you are.” You blinked in surprise, not even hearing Claude’s approach until he’d spoken. “I’ve been looking all over for you!”

You turned, crossing your arms as you looked at him.

“I assume you’re done with your ‘boring politics’ then?”

“Right… I forgot about that.” He frowned, running a hand through his hair. “Sorry, that wasn’t one of my finest moments.”

“It certainly wasn’t.” A smile tugged at the corners of your mouth, and you turned your head to look back at the ocean. “But I must admit, I’m quite surprised to hear that you’ve spoken about me so much.”

“Don’t tell me you still think you’re not special.” He moved to stand beside you, his hands holding onto the railing as he spoke.

“I haven’t thought that since we were students at the academy.” You replied, sighing as you gazed at the horizon. “I’m not sure I know what, exactly, you saw in me back then, but I’ve long since realised that you may have had a point.”

Claude was silent for a while, and you turned your head to look at him again, frowning as you studied him. He turned his head, smiling softly at you despite the sorrow hiding in his eyes.

“Did I… Say something wrong?” You asked, turning your whole body to face him.

“No, no. It’s just…” He sighed, shooting a lingering glance back to the ocean. “I wish you’d been able to meet my grandfather.”

“Me too.” Without really thinking about it, you placed one of your hands on his own. “But it seems fate had different plans for me.”

“That day… When we parted…” His gaze dropped to your hand on his. “Do you think that I could have said anything to make you change your mind about staying with the Knights of Seiros?”

Why was he asking about that all of a sudden? It was hardly a topic of importance when the war was finally progressing in your favour...

“Does it matter anymore?” You asked, hurriedly taking your hand back once you realised what you’d done. “What’s done is done, we can’t change the past.”

Your gaze dropped to the floor, and you suddenly felt like you were back at the academy. Too shy to even look at Claude when he started talking about big, serious topics. Had things really changed as much as you thought?

“I suppose not.” He sighed, his shadow shrugging. “But we _can_ change the future.”

“I try not to think about the future.” You said, forcing yourself to look up and meet his gaze with your own. “Don’t want to get my hopes up only to die in a ditch somewhere, you know?”

“You’re not going to die in a ditch somewhere.” He shook his head, an amused grin making its way to his face, as if he thought you were joking.

“You can’t guarantee that I won’t.” His smile dropped. “This is _war_. Anything can and will happen. If I’m going to die before we win I want it to be while I’m living in the present, not daydreaming about the future.”

“So you’re telling me that you don’t have any plans for after we beat Edelgard?” He frowned, looking puzzled for what you assumed was the first time in his life.

“I made plans for after we graduated, and look how that turned out.” You didn’t think much of the statement until you realised just how much you’d actually given away. “Uh… You know what? Nevermind. Forget I said anything.”

You walked past him, hoping to get as far away from here as possible. If you stayed much longer, you were scared of what else you might say. Or what he might see in your eyes.

“(y/n), wait.” Claude grabbed your hand, making you turn back to look at him. “If Edelgard hadn’t attacked the monastery, if you’d never picked up Thunderbrand… Would you have come with me?”

You swallowed, staring at him for a long time. Your brain whirled, and you wondered if maybe you should just tell him the truth. What did it matter? That was five years ago and any feelings you might have had back then…

No. He would see right through it. He’d know.

He always did.

The question was… Would he feel the same?

“I…” You started, still tossing up between your choices.

The sound of footsteps gave you the push you needed to pull your hand free and compose yourself. This could wait.

“Master Claude!” Nardel appeared from behind you, his eyes alight with curiosity as he looked between the two of you. He must have realised that he’d walked in on something important. “A message arrived from the Great Bridge of Myrddin. They are requesting lady (y/n)’s immediate return.”

“Alright, if you can lead me back to the stables I’ll grab a horse and go.” You rubbed your face with your hands, blinking a few times in an attempt to set aside what had just almost happened.

“My wyvern will be faster,” Claude stepped forward, reaching for your hand again. “Give me a few minutes to get set up and we can be there in no time.”

“Claude, I told you what I’d do if you ever tried to get me back up on a wyvern, and I _will_ carry out that threat.” You took a couple steps back, ignoring the hurt in his eyes. “Besides, we need those troops and you don’t need me to get them. I’m a soldier, let me do my thing so you can do yours.”

He stared at you for a while, Nardel completely forgotten as he tried to read you through the confident air you’d put on.

He sighed, his shoulders slumping as soon as he realised you’d made a good point. “Be careful.”

You nodded, turning back the way you’d come and gesturing for Nardel to begin leading you to the stables.

As he watched you leave, Claude clenched his fists in an attempt to hold back his frustration. He’d been so close to getting the answer to the unspoken question he’d asked five years ago. But once again your duties had taken you away from his side.

And he wanted nothing more than to run after you.

**

Judith was nothing if not observant.

She had to be, to have survived this long.

Which was how she knew that Claude had a thing for (y/n) even back when they were at the academy together.

According to his grandfather, Claude talked about her _a lot_. One could even go so far as to say that he was drawn to her like a moth to a flame.

That description was surprisingly accurate back at the academy, and Judith had been able to witness it first-hand. Claude had picked the girl out of a relatively large group of students, all of whom had their backs to him, and there hadn’t really been anything about her that made her stand out from the crowd.

It was uncanny how he’d managed to find her so easily when she looked so… Plain. To anyone other than Claude she would have been just another student. Unimportant. Unimpressive. Unnoticed.

“I want you to lead the Golden Deer once I die from boredom” he’d told her, easily making her smile. The smile that bloomed across her face at his words made Judith almost understand his apparent obsession with this girl.

When she smiled, she _was_ rather pretty.

And once she’d told Claude to stop being such a baby…

Well, Judith really did like her then.

Alas, back then (y/n) had been meek, lacking self-confidence and wholly unreadable. It was impossible to tell if she felt anything except embarrassment, let alone if she felt anything for Claude.

But the moment Judith met them in Aillel, she’d noticed just how much they’d grown up.

Claude had become a fine man, though she’d never admit that out loud. And (y/n)... She’d grown into what seemed like a completely different woman. Those plain and not very noteworthy features of hers had given way to a beauty that many in the army came to admire.

And she’d become far more confident. She’d gone from an easily-embarrassed clutz to a seasoned fighter and gifted leader in such a short time that Judith had to wonder if this was even the same person.

Claude definitely hadn’t failed to notice the changes that had come to his dear friend, with the way his eyes trailed to her no matter who he was talking to easily giving that away. The fact that he looked so hopelessly in love without even knowing he was doing it was almost amusing. Yes, Judith really did enjoy knowing something the so-called ‘Master Tactician’ didn’t.

(y/n) seemed just as smitten with him. The only downside to becoming more open was that your feelings ended up on display more clearly than before. But true to form, she hadn’t noticed either.

But _something_ had happened at Derdriu. Neither party spoke of it, but the distance between them grew with every single day. Claude kept a worried eye on her from a distance, while she avoided looking at him altogether.

The near-constant flirting ground to a halt, the not-so-secret smiles stopped being exchanged, and the trust between them shattered.

Judith could only watch, wondering if she’d ever see their true smiles again, or if she would have to settle for the ones they used to convince those around them that they were ok.

It was, indeed, a shame.  
**

You stumbled, your head pounding as you tried to remember how you’d even gotten into the cathedral anyway. It was so far from your room, and you felt really, really terrible.

As you leaned heavily on a doorway, you rubbed your temples in an attempt to soothe your aching head. Why had you even gotten out of bed? And what exactly had you been doing all day?

Your memory was fuzzy, and you let out an exhausted sigh as you stood back up, deciding that if you could make it all the way here, then you could make it back to your room. Across the bridge. Past the academy. And up those awful stairs…

Your legs trembled at the thought of climbing those stairs.

You blinked, and suddenly the floor seemed a lot closer than it had a few seconds ago. And you hurt all over.

Ah, so that’s what it was like to fall to the floor completely unprepared.

There was a searing pain in your abdomen, but you couldn’t recall why that was important.

And you were so tired…

“Princess?”

Your eyes fluttered open, and you wished that you had the strength to at least roll over.

“Hilda asked me to check on you,” Claude called, his footsteps nearing. “Said you were acting weird.”

You felt a sharp pain peirce through your brain, as if someone had just lodged an arrow there for the fun of it, and groaned with pain.

“Princess?” The footsteps slowed.

You closed your eyes, maybe the ground _was_ pretty comfortable after all…

Until someone gently took your shoulder and rolled you over. You only half-opened your eyes, and a face swam into and out of focus.

“(y/n)?” The voice asked, gently shaking you. “I need to get you to-”

Your eyes shut on their own, and you found yourself surrounded only by darkness.

“...For the last time, Claude.” An irritated voice cut through your haze. “We’ve given her the antidote and she isn’t going to die. Not if I have anything to say about it.”

“If there was an intruder in the monastery, why did she go in alone?”

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but she’s quite stubborn.” That voice… Manuela? Yes, her name was Manuela. “Ever since she picked up that sword… It’s been like she has the weight of the world on her shoulders, and she won’t let anyone share that burden.”

The darkness washed over you again.

The hazy roof of a room came into focus only a moment later. Something cold and wet touched your forehead, and there was the steady plod of… Something, echoing all around you.

“Her fever isn’t breaking.” A masculine voice remarked.

“It hasn’t even been a day since she collapsed, Claude.” Chided a feminine one. “Poisons are not easily shrugged off, as you may already know.”

Claude… Why did you know that name? And why did it feel like you needed to tell him something?

You coughed, your eyes closing once again.

“You’re absolutely sure that she’ll be OK?” The footsteps stopped.

“At the current moment, I am more worried about you.” The feminine voice continued. “I must insist that you go and get some rest.”

“You honestly expect me to rest at a time like this?”

“We are still in the middle of a war, and if you collapse from exhaustion then we will be down two of our strongest fighters instead of just one.”

That voice… It belonged to someone you knew.

“Fine, I’ll pull up a chair and-”

“You will go to your room and rest on a proper bed.” Ah yes, Flayn. That was her name. “The professor told me I could use whatever means necessary to make you get some sleep, and I will not hesitate to do so.”

“Alright…” A sigh. The shuffle of clothing. The footsteps again. And then the sound of a door opening. “You know… She wouldn’t have been out there alone if… Nevermind, I just hope that when she wakes up…”

Your eyes fluttered open, and you frowned, trying to remember anything that would explain how you got into this mysterious room. You coughed, carefully sitting up and looking around.

The infirmary?

“(y/n)!” Flayn said, a relieved expression crossing her face as she looked you over. “You are awake! This is most excellent, we were all quite worried about you.”

She helped you get comfortable, endlessly fussing over almost everything until she was sure that you were happy. Then, just as quickly as she had spoken with you, she was poking her head out the infirmary door. 

You heard a muffled conversation, or rather, you thought you had. Your ears were still ringing a little. It felt like you had pins and needles, except instead of being isolated to a limb, it was over your whole body. And you couldn’t remember anything about the past few days.

“You were poisoned, it seems that an imperial spy had infiltrated the monastery with the task of killing you,” Flayn said softly, shutting the door behind her before crossing the room to a jug of water and some wooden cups. “You have been cured, but I am afraid that you will not be following the rest of the army to Gronder Field tomorrow.”

Her eyes were alight with concern as she turned around, holding out a cup for you. 

“Thank you…” You rasped, a shaky hand taking the cup from her. “But really, I’m fine.”

“You were unconscious for almost three days,” She scoffed, watching closely as you sipped at the water. “The poison has weakened you, and I must insist that you allow yourself time to recover. There is no use in your being cured only for you to be killed the moment the fighting starts.”

You sighed, nodding in agreement.

“Had Claude not found you, I fear that we may have lost you.” Her gaze dropped to the floor as she spoke, and her hands restlessly tugged at her dress. “He refused to leave your side, I had to threaten to call my brother on him so that he would be well rested for the battle.”

You looked down into the water, your frown deepening at her words. You’d been avoiding him for so long, and yet… He had stayed with you.

“I feel like I got run over by a warhorse.” You joked, a weak smile forming on your face as you looked up at Flayn. “And I don’t really remember much from the past few days. You say Claude found me in the cathedral? What was I even doing there?”

“Hilda said that you were on the trail of someone suspicious, but that is all that we know.” Flayn tutted, taking the cup from you and placing it on a nearby table. “Next time I hope you bring someone else along with you. Losing you is a blow that I am not sure the army can take.”

“I’m not that important, Flayn.”

“(y/n), you are far more important than you realise.” She said, her hand resting on one of your own. “You have been with us for five years now, do you truly believe that you can be easily replaced?”

A knock sounding on the door spared you from finding a reply.

“Flayn?” Claude’s voice came from the other side, making your heart race. “You sent for me?”

“He sounds like he just rolled out of bed.” Flayn said quietly, amusement clear on her face before she carefully opened the door. “Please, come in.”

He stepped through the door, his eyes resting on you immediately. He gave you a relieved smile, his eyes lighting up as he rushed to your bedside, both of his hands taking one of your own.

“He looks it, too,” You said, looking behind him at the green-haired girl. “Don’t you agree, Flayn?”

She snorted, clearly trying to hold in her laughter.

You finally dragged your eyes to Claude, taking him in as you gazed at him.

With his tousled hair and rumpled clothes… Claude really did look like he had slept in his clothes, and had still been sleeping when a guard came to bring him to the infirmary. His eyes had dark smudges under them, and you wondered just how much sleep he had been skipping.

It all seemed a bit much for him to be so worried about you that he would even forgo his precious naps.

“I will leave the two of you to talk.” Flayn said quietly, slipping through the now-open door and shutting it behind her.

“Hi.” You whispered, wishing you had anything else you could say to him.

“Hey there, princess.” Claude grinned, squeezing your hand gently as he spoke. “You really scared m- us, you know?”

“Sorry.” You tugged your hand out of his grip as you spoke, your gaze dropping to your lap. “For scaring you. And for-”

“I’m gonna have to stop you there.” Your eyes darted to his face again as he spoke. “You don’t have to apologise for that.”

“It really feels like I do.”

“You needed some space,” He shook his head, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. “I was going a little overboard with the whole ‘catching up on five years of lost time’ thing.”

You snorted at his comment, earning a wink from Claude. Yes, he had definitely gone overboard but… That wasn’t the reason you’d been avoiding him, and even he knew it.

That day in Derdriu hovered between you. The question you’d left unanswered had haunted you this entire time, and you wondered why he wanted to know so badly. Why was your going back to the Alliance with him so important?

Why did he care so much about your future?

“Why’d you bring me to Derdriu?” You asked instead, looking down at your lap.

“Truth be told, I was going to tell you all about my plans... If I want to see my dreams come true, I’m going to need someone by my side.”

“And you chose me?” You snorted, restlessly clasping your hands together. “Byleth is-”

“Incredibly capable.” Claude interrupted. “But she’s not you.”

You looked up, your cheeks warming up with a slight blush. He really thought that highly of you? But then again… You were hiding the truth about Thunderbrand from him. You claimed to trust him most of all, but somehow you hadn’t been able to bring yourself to tell him.

You had to tell him.

“I don’t think you should really be counting on me to fight beside you.”

“I’ve always counted on you before, why would I stop now?”

“Because I’ve been lying about Thunderbrand.” You took in a deep breath, steeling yourself before you continued. “I know why I can use it despite the lack of a Crest.”

Claude blinked, looking genuinely surprised for a few moments before his face settled into another of his grins. His eyes glowed with curiosity, and you got so caught up in them that you almost forgot what you were about to say.

“Remember that necklace from your grandfather?” You said finally, absent-mindedly reaching for it with one hand. “I took a closer look at it, and I think you should too.”

You carefully unclasped it before holding it out for him. His fingers brushed against yours as he took it.

“The stone has an engraving on it,” You said as Claude inspected it. “Look familiar?”

“Is that…” He frowned, taking a few more seconds to look before handing it back to you. “That’s Catherine’s Crest.”

“Hanneman gave me this big explanation that I didn’t fully understand,” You sighed, deftly clasping the necklace around your neck again. “But from what I did understand… As long as I have this, I have the Crest of Charon.”

“Something tells me that this isn’t common knowledge.” Claude leant back, his arms resting behind his head in a familiar gesture.

“The only people who know are you, me and Hanneman.” You nodded. “The less people who know, the better… If Edelgard found out how easy it would be to take Thunderbrand off the board, I have no doubt that she’d take that opportunity.”

“You make a good point,” He replied, shooting you a grin. “But I don’t see why that means I shouldn’t be relying on you.”

“If it becomes common knowledge and I lose Thunderbrand, I don’t know if I’ll be able to keep fighting this war with you.” You admitted, shoulders slumping. “When I came to the academy I could barely swing a sword. But now I’ve been fighting with this Relic for five years and to be honest… I don’t think I know who I am without it.”

Claude frowned, leaning forward again. He stared at you for a while, making you shift restlessly.

“You’re exactly the same person you’ve always been, (y/n).” Claude smiled softly, leaning closer so he could tuck a stray strand of hair behind your ear. “Sure, it may have helped you find your courage, and maybe it gave you the push you needed to stand up against the Empire. But Thunderband never defined who you are as a person, and it never will.”

You smiled, tears pricking your eyes at his kind words. The space between the two of you grew steadily smaller.

A knock sounded at the door, and you broke apart, looking up at the door just as Byleth poked her head around it.

“(y/n)!” She said, her expression brightening. “I’m glad to see that you’re awake, we were all worried about you. But I’m afraid I can’t stay, I just needed to let Claude know that everything’s ready for his trip to the Alliance.”

“You’re going to the Alliance again?” You asked, arching an eyebrow.

As you looked at him your heart fluttered, but now wasn’t the time to be thinking of such things. He seemed to have the same idea as a lazy grin spread across his face, not quite covering up the disappointment shining in his eyes.

“I’m hoping that with our success at Gronder Field we’ll be able to squeeze a bit more support out of the other Alliance Lords.” He stood, stretching his arms above his head before dropping them back to his sides. “I’ll fill you in later, yeah?”

“Yeah…” You nodded, watching as he crossed the room to the door.

As soon as the door shut you put your hand to your lips, thinking of what could have been...

**

“You don’t have to fight if you don’t want to,” You turned your head to look at Claude, who was trying (and failing) to hide his unease. “I know Flayn and Manuela said you were ready to get back into the fray but-”

“Relax.” You cut him off, eyeing his bow as his fingers drummed restlessly against it. “Wasn’t the whole point of my coming with you so that you could keep an eye on me?”

Claude coughed, his fidgeting becoming more prominent when he realised that you knew why he’d asked for you to come help with his part of the plan.“Well, _yes_ but-”

“I know, I wasn’t supposed to find out,” You put your hand on his arm as you spoke, wondering why he was so uncharacteristically restless. “But you and Seteth have this habit of arguing quite loudly…”

“I’ll admit I was worried about you, I still am, but after everything that went down can you really blame me?” Claude glanced down at your hand on his arm, seeming to get the hint as he subtly looked around to see if anyone had noticed.

It was one thing to be restless before a battle, it was another to openly look restless when most of the army see you as unflappable. If anyone saw how nervous Claude, of all people, was… There might just be chaos.

“I think it’s kind of sweet for you to worry so much about me even though I’ve survived this long without your help.” You teased, trying to call his attention away from whatever was bothering him.

He’d said something earlier about an ‘extra plan’, but… Surely that couldn’t be the reason? Thanks to Byleth, all of his plans thus far had gone off without a hitch. Was he really worried that this one wouldn’t?

The more you thought about it, the more nervous you became. 

“Without my help? He snorted, pulling you out of your dangerous train of thought. “Remind me again who found you passed out in the cathedral because you went and got yourself poisoned?”

“Are you ever going to let that go?” You playfully shoved his shoulder with your own, unable to stop the grin forming on your face.

“It’s only been a couple weeks, princess.” Claude winked, nudging your shoulder in response. “Give it a year before you start expecting me to forget something like that.”

“Well I could always try a blow to the head.” You moved to stand in front of him, clasping your hands behind your back as you looked at him.

“I’d like to see you pull that one off.” He reached forward to tap your nose, making you lean backwards so that he couldn’t reach.

“That’s the thing, Riegan.” You replied, easily swatting his hand away. “You _won’t_ see it.”

A soldier nearby cleared his throat, making the two of you aware of just how many people could, and did, witness your antics. You looked at the floor, pressing your lips together as you held in a laugh.

“Er…” Claude awkwardly ran a hand through his hair. “Let’s get into position, shall we?”

“Lead the way.” You nodded, still trying not to laugh at his embarrassment.

He strode purosefully through the prep area, leading you silently until you were walking through a deserted part of the base camp. Once he was sure no one could hear, he began to speak.

“Listen, part of my plan requires some… Strange things to happen.” Claude didn’t look at you as he spoke, his eyes darting around to make sure no one was around.“I know you’re all about saving my life and all that but I’m going to need you to stand back and let it happen.”

“The way you phrased that makes me really not want to do that.” You said, wondering what he could mean by ‘strange things’.

Most of the time you’d known each other had been filled with ‘strange things’, so what could be stranger than what you’d already witnessed?

“I know you can’t bear the thought of me dying,” You snorted, rolling your eyes at his comment. “But we both know that I have far too many contingency plans to die out here.”

“I’m still not seeing why I should stand back and let things happen.”

“I just need you to trust me on this one, OK?” He stopped walking, taking hold of your shoulders and turning you to face him. “I promise, it’ll turn out alright. But you can’t interfere, no matter what happens.”

You stared into his eyes, waiting for him to crack a smile. Surely he was joking. What life-threatening thing was he about to do that he’d have to ask you to stand back and watch?

But nothing happened. Claude kept his unwavering stare on you, revealing nothing but an honest request for you to stay back this time.

You sighed, your shoulders slumping. “Alright, I promise.”

He let go of your shoulders, his eyes lighting up once again.

“And I promise that I’ll explain everything to you afterwards.” He grinned, leading the way once again.

“I would appreciate that.” You called, following him once again. “Oh and Claude?”

“Yeah?” He looked over his shoulder at you, eyes twinkling with curiosity.

“I’ve always trusted you.”

**

“It’s… Going to take a while to wrap my head around this.”

You rubbed your temples, trying to make sense of the day you’d just had.

First, the Almyran army had shown up at Fort Merceus, effectively winning the battle for you. But not until after Claude and Nardel- no, _Nader_, had some weird little fight right in the middle of the siege.

And then Fort Merceus had been destroyed by javelins of light. You’d only escaped a fiery death because Claude had dragged you onto his wyvern, and as mad as you were that he’d brought you up there… Well, it was better than being dead.

The explanation Claude had given the others only an hour earlier was far from detailed but he’d just given you the full situation. And suddenly you were struggling to come to terms with everything.

He wasn’t just the leader of the Alliance, but also the future king of Almyra.

Where did that leave you in all of this?

“I don’t blame you,” Claude sighed, pulling you out of your thoughts. “I wasn’t going to drop it on you so soon, but I was worried we wouldn’t get the time to speak privately like this once we start marching for Enbarr.”

“You mean you haven’t noticed how people tend to find a reason to leave us alone when we talk?” You cast a sidelong glance at him, the corners of your lips tugging upwards.

“Of course I’ve noticed,” He grinned, looking at you for a moment longer before casting his eyes to the bustling monastery below. “But _some people_ like to stand just close enough to listen in on what we’re saying. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather they didn’t know who I am just yet.”

“Everyone thinks that half the stuff we say to each other is in jest, ‘Your Majesty’,” You said, turning to look at him with a grin of your own. 

“Please don’t call me that.” He grumbled, shaking his head in exasperation.

“You know, I think I told you exactly the same thing when you started calling me princess on a daily basis.” 

“Well, it’s hardly my fault you’re everything a princess should be.”  
“Covered in dirt, grime, dried blood and all sorts of cuts, scrapes and bruises that I don’t remember getting?” You raised an eyebrow, wondering whether Claude knew what a princess actually was.

“And yet I still think you’re gorgeous.” Another grin settled across his face as he spoke.

“I’m exhausted is what I am.” You retorted, running a hand over your face. “And… A little scared.”

“It’s OK to be scared, (y/n).” Claude murmured, a concerned frown making its way to his face.

“I know.” You replied, your hand moving up to idly fiddle with your necklace. “But I can’t help but wonder… What if Edelgard knows why I can use Thunderbrand and is just waiting to use that knowledge to turn the tide of the war?”

“You don’t have to worry about that,” He put his hands on your shoulders for the second time that day, looking directly into your eyes so he could get his point across. “The only person who knows other than us is Hanneman, and he’s not about to go blabbing a potential break in Crest research to anybody.”

“But still…” Claude shot an uneasy look at Thunderbrand as you spoke. “Edelgard was always one step ahead of us at the academy… And I don’t want to take one step into Enbarr without a plan for if anything goes wrong.”

“Don’t tell me you’re suggesting what I think you’re suggesting.” His grip on your shoulders tightened almost imperceptibly, though you weren’t sure if he even knew he was doing it.

The fear dancing in his gaze was scarily real.

“I need you to promise me that if what happened to Miklan happens to me-”

“Don’t.” He pleaded, for once not bothering to conceal his true feelings behind a fake smile.

“Promise me,” You placed a hand on one of his own, a sad smile on your face as you continued. “You’ll have to end it before anyone gets hurt… You’re the only person I trust to do it.”

He sighed, his shoulders slumping.

“Alright, I promise.” And suddenly he had pulled you closer, hugging you tightly as if he thought you might disappear. “I’ll end it if I have to… But I won’t let it come to that.”

**

The war was won.

Edelgard was dead, the empire was no more.

But instead of a joyous celebration, you’d only found more work to be done.

Hubert hadn’t been the most agreeable classmate, sure, but in the end… Well, he hadn’t decided to spite everyone and chose instead to leave a warning about the current danger to Fodlan.

Claude had looked like he wanted to say something to you before the letter arrived. He’d pulled you aside and was fiddling with something in his pocket, but before he could utter even a word, the soldier came forward and set all his plans back a little while longer.

He’d told you it could wait, that it was something for the end of the war… 

And you’d let it slide. After all, the war was still going, it was just that your opponent had changed. But once you’d defeated those who slither in the dark, the celebrations were once again cut short with the impending arrival of Nemesis.

And then Rhea told you the true story. You’d looked at Thunderbrand in horror after that, and suddenly you couldn’t bring yourself to wield the sword that had saved your life so many times.

But if you expected to defeat the King of Liberation himself… You were going to have to pick it up one last time.

Which was how you ended up wandering around the monastery the night before the deciding battle. Unable to sleep, you’d probably walked a circuit of the place at least two times before deciding to return to your bed and hope that sleep would just come to you if you laid still for long enough.

Light glowing from a door a little way down the corridor stopped you right before you could open the door to your room. You wandered down, stopping right in front of Claude’s door.

He hadn’t gone to sleep yet?

You knocked lightly, a quiet thump being the only indicator that someone was in the room. The door opened slowly, and Claude’s face poked out.

“Princess?” He asked, frowning at you. “What are you still doing up?”

“I could ask you the same thing.” You replied, only able to conjure up a weak smile.

“Couldn’t sleep?” He guessed, opening the door wider and gesturing for you to come in.

“Yeah.” You murmured, stepping over the threshold into the dimly lit room.

There were books and papers strewn everywhere. His golden coat had been tossed haphazardly over the chair next to his desk, where a single candle burned next to a pile of scrunched-up paper. Claude himself looked similar to the way he had when he’d visited you in the infirmary, but without all the extra stuff he wore to show off his rank as the leader of the alliance… He reminded you a lot more of the boy you’d known five years ago.

“Sorry,” He shut the door quietly, turning back to you with an embarrassed grin. “I guess I got carried away with my work.”

“What work could you possibly be doing at a time like this?” You asked, picking up a piece of paper from the floor and skim-reading it.

“Oh you know,” He shrugged, gesturing for you to sit. “Alliance stuff.”

“This is a letter you received when we were at the academy.” You arched an eyebrow, holding up the offending paper as you sat on the edge of his bed. “It’s even got the grease stain from when I spilled food on it.”

“OK, you got me,” He turned the chair at his desk around so that when he sat he’d be facing you. “My room has always been this messy, but in my defense I don’t really use it that much anymore.”

“I can tell.” You muttered, looking down at the papers all over his bed.

It suddenly became clearer to you just how much Claude had been hiding over the years. There were maps, research notes, hastily drawn diagrams… Even a few things written in a language you couldn’t read.

“So.” Claude said, lacing his fingers together. “What’s on your mind?”

“I’m not sure.” You fiddled with the letter in your hands, resisting the urge to start folding it up. “Every time I close my eyes to sleep I just start thinking too much, you know?”

“What Rhea told us about the true history of Fodlan really got to you, huh?” He tilted his head slightly, his assessing gaze taking you in. “It was certainly a lot to take in.”

“I think I’d rather I didn’t know.” You sighed, lacing your own fingers together in your lap. “I can’t look at Thunderbrand now without feeling sick to my stomach… That used to be a living creature and now it’s just another tool to kill people with.”

“If it makes you feel any better, once we’ve defeated Nemesis you won’t have to use it ever again.”

“Just because we won the war doesn’t mean the fighting’s truly over, Claude.”

“Maybe.” He shrugged, leaning back in his chair and placing his hands behind his head. “But I’d like to believe that you’re going to start taking your future into your own hands after tomorrow.”

“What do you mean?” You frowned, leaning forward slightly. “Didn’t I already do that when I chose to side with you instead of the place I was born?”

“You aimlessly searched for Rhea for nearly five years just because Seteth asked you to.” Claude replied, shaking his head. “You never seemed all that religious back at the academy, so why chase after something you never really believed in?”

“Because I owe her.” You murmured, your gaze dropping to your lap. “Rhea gave me a place at the academy when I had nowhere left to go… No one else to turn to.”

Claude was silent for a long while, apparently waiting for you to say whatever was on your mind. What had truly been bothering you this whole time. In your peripheral vision, he slowly leant forward, bestowing all of his attention on you.

“My village burned down. I got trapped under some debris and left to die.” You hugged yourself, suddenly feeling uneasy as you told your story. “If the knights hadn’t shown up…”

Another long silence. You both knew the end of that sentence.

Had the Knights of Seiros not shown up that night… You wouldn’t be alive right now.

Sometimes when you thought too much about it, you could still feel the heat of the fire.

“I suppose now that we’ve found her, my debt has been repaid.” You shook your head, clearing it of the lingering memories. “But I don’t know where that leaves me now. I honestly didn’t believe I’d make it this far.”

“Maybe you need a fresh start.”

You looked up at Claude’s words.

A fresh start would be nice… But where would you go? And what would you do?

“Maybe.” You shrugged, glancing down at all the papers next to you. “It would be nice to go somewhere with no church and no hero’s relics… No Crests, even.”

“Well, I _was_ planning on going back to Almyra after all this…” He suggested, the smallest of grins appearing on his face.

“Leaving all the work to Byleth, hm?” You asked, unable to stop yourself from smiling.

“We both know she’s better suited to leading Fodlan than I am.” He sat up properly, trying his best to hide a yawn. “Besides, if I want my dream to come true, my home’s going to need a bit of a push in the right direction. Who better to give that push than the king himself?”

“You’re not the king yet.” You quipped, blinking as a wave of tiredness washed over you.

“But I will be.” He winked, his grin widening. “And I could use someone to have my back out there.”

It all felt strangely familiar. Once again, he was asking you to follow him. To help him.

He still held onto the hope that you would go with him this time.

And this time, you weren’t half as unsure of yourself as you had been back then.

“I’ll think about it.” You stood, taking a moment to stretch before you made your way to the door. “Thanks for talking… I think I might go see if I can get some sleep.”

“Good night, (y/n).” You turned back at the sound of Claude’s voice, leaving the door half open.

“Night, Claude.”

**

You crossed your arms, watching for a little while as Claude finished fitting a saddle to his wyvern.

“Sneaking away?” You called, smiling as he jumped at the sound of your voice.

Claude turned around, raising his hands in surrender. “In my defense, I was planning on saying goodbye.”

“Was this before or after you left for Almyra and I found this letter on my pillow?” You held up the offending object between two fingers, raising an eyebrow.

“OK, so I wasn’t going to say goodbye in the traditional sense but-”

“I know you overheard Seteth asking me to stay as a captain of the knights.” You sighed, cutting him off. “I think you’ll find that I’m far more observant than people give me credit for.”

“Well, you sounded like you were happy to stick around,” Claude’s gaze dropped to the ground, and he shoved his hands into his pockets as he spoke. “I figured I was pushing my luck asking you to come with me. This is your home, after all.”

“Jumping to conclusions, Claude?” You asked, making him look up at you. “That’s very unlike you. You didn’t even stick around long enough to hear the end of the conversation…”

He frowned, confusion clear on his face.

“I’m not staying with the knights.” You grinned, adjusting the strap of the bag you’d slung over your shoulder. “In fact, I was hoping there was still room for me on that trip to Almyra you mentioned.”

“There’s always room for you, princess.” He grinned, his eyes shining with relief before they darkened with doubt. “But are you sure? We probably won’t be coming back to Fodlan for a while…”

“Well, you know what they say…” You said, ignoring the leaps your heart was doing. “Home is where the heart is.”

“It sure is.” He agreed, turning back to his wyvern so he could do the finishing touches.

It took him about a minute before he turned back around.

“I read the letter.” You could feel the laughter bubbling up at his reaction, but forced it down. “From the sound of it, you had something you really wanted to ask me back in Enbarr.”

“I did.” Claude rummaged around in his pockets, pulling out a small object. “Here, I want you to have this.”

You looked at what was in his hand, forgetting how to breathe for a moment. You really had read the letter, and its contents suggested that he felt the same way you did… But for some reason, you hadn’t expected the ring.

“That’s…” You breathed, struggling to remember how to say anything else.

“Every good king needs a queen.” He grinned, a wink not far behind. “Or, perhaps a princess?”

“You’re not a king yet.” You murmured, repeating what you’d told him only a couple days before.

“But I will be.” Claude responded, taking a step closer. “So, what do you say?”

You dropped your bag to the floor, throwing your arms around his shoulders and leaning up so that you could press your lips to his. He was quick to respond, his hands moving to rest on your waist as he kissed you.

When you finally pulled away, it was reluctantly.

You’d waited five years for this moment, after all.

All the two of you could do for a few minutes was stare at each other, goofy little grins plastered on your faces.

“I’ll take that as a yes.” Claude finally said, still holding you close to him as if he thought this might just be a dream.

“I suppose we’d better get going.” You sighed, reluctantly taking a step back. “Once the sun’s up properly it’s going to be very difficult to leave without anyone noticing.”

He took your hand, sliding the ring onto your finger as subtly as he could manage before he too reluctantly stepped away.

“Luckily I was almost done with the saddle when you arrived.” He said, swinging himself up and onto the back of his wyvern. “I hope you don’t mind flying, it’s the easiest way to get there.”

You smiled up at him, already fiddling with the newly-placed ring on your finger.“I think I’ll be fine if you’re with me.”  
“Alright then,” You’d never seen a bigger grin on his face as he leant down, holding a hand out for you. “Shall we?”

“I have one more thing to do.”

You unbuckled the belt holding Thunderbrand, turning away from the wyvern to lean the sword on the fence post behind you.

And you didn’t turn back to look at it once as you picked up your bag and walked to Claude, taking his hand so he could help you onto the wyvern. 

The sun rose, shining on the abandoned sword as the wyvern took you closer to your new future. Seteth would find it some time later, and he’d smile, knowing you had taken your future into your own hands.

And it would be _extraordinary_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoo boy it's finally over.
> 
> I'm sorry for how long this took, When I posted chapter 1 I still had to finish the golden deer route, and I was having so much fun with it that I procrastinated pretty hard so that it would never end.
> 
> I also may or may not have started several WIPs while I was writing this chapter, which slowed down the production process like... A LOT.
> 
> Anywho, thanks for sticking with me, I hope you liked this chapter!

**Author's Note:**

> Fun fact, that necklace he gave you is my take on those crest stone items you get in NG+.
> 
> Other fun fact, there were several scenes cut out of this before I finished it. One being where Claude finds out you can't read (ironic, I know), and starts teaching you, the others were all part of how you came into possession of Thunderbrand. Long story short; Cathering got wounded in the battle for the monastery and you accidentally picked it up, then found out that you could use its full strength without even having a Crest.


End file.
